On the Hogwarts Express
by TheSummerNightingale
Summary: Despite their parents' hatred of the Malfoys, Rose and Albus discover for themselves on the Hogwarts Express that maybe Malfoys aren't so bad - and might make a friend of one themselves (also includes Sorting).


**I've finally gotten the incentive to write, after a month of wondering what to do next! So here's a one-shot (and I'm still debating whether it'll be anything more) about Rose, Albus, and Scorpius. I was originally going to have it be about only Rose and Scorpius, but then I decided that throwing Albus in would make it a little more… realistic, I don't know.. Well, at any rate, I hope you all enjoy this!**

* * *

Rose Weasley loved Hogwarts. She read each and every book about the school that she could get her hands on, and even that wasn't enough. She constantly badgered her parents to tell her about their days in Hogwarts, and couldn't get enough of James's stories when he had come home for the summer. In the days when she had free time to spare, she'd often role play being at Hogwarts. So naturally, getting on the Hogwarts Express was more than an experience for her – it was a lifelong dream come true.

Heaving her trunk, her light brown eyes glazed over at the sight of the compartments. She let out a happy laugh and turned around to consult with her cousin, Albus Severus Potter, who was looking around the train with an equal amount of awe.

"Let's go find a compartment, shall we?"

Albus nodded eagerly, and together, the two set off down the corridors to find a place to sit. This proved to be easier said than done, and it was with an exhausted sigh of relief that they opened the door of a compartment completely empty, save one person.

"Er, can we sit?" Albus asked awkwardly to the boy their parents had pointed out at the station. The boy - what was his name? Some kind of constellation - nodded curtly.

Albus immediately loaded his luggage onto the shelves, then sank down onto the cushioned seats, while Rose took her time heaving her trunk. Unfortunately, Rose wasn't expecting her trunk to be _quite_ so heavy, and her arms slipped down the sides. Fully expecting a crash, she squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation.

"You can open your eyes now," came a voice from above her. Rose slowly opened her eyes to see the platinum-blond hair of the son of Draco Malfoy holding her trunk as if it was a feather. He gracefully put it on the luggage shelf and stuck out his hand. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy."

Rose hesitantly shook it, and said, "Rose Weasley. And this one here is my cousin, Albus."

"A Potter, are you?" Scorpius asked as he and Rose took a seat. Rose had heard of how her parents and Malfoy had been rivals at Hogwarts, and, as her dad always said, had looked down on them.

But this generation of Malfoy didn't seem to match up to the "arrogant, selfish git" that Draco Malfoy had been described as. In fact, she couldn't detect a single amount of scorn in the way Scorpius had said "Potter", only mild curiosity.

Albus nodded. "How everyone knows that, I don't know."

Rose could barely suppress a smile. Truth was, none of the Weasley or Potter children had known about their parents being the top three war heroes of the battle against Voldemort. At least, none until Rose found out by reading a book, at age six. Her parents had told her not to tell anyone else - but it was hard not to. Still, she managed to keep it a secret, until James went to Hogwarts and found out for himself. And now, it seemed, Albus was next on the list.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Scorpius scoffed. "You're dad's probably the most famous wizard alive _and _dead. He got rid of the Dark Lord, for Merlin's sake!" Rose failed, once more, to hear any bitter tones in his voice.

Albus raised his eyebrows. "I think I'd know that about my dad, if it was true."

"It is," Rose commented wryly. There was no beating around the bush now.

His jaw dropped, and Albus glanced wildly from Rose to Scorpius, then narrowed his eyes. "You're pulling my leg, aren't you?"

"I'm really not, Al," she grinned, as Scorpius shook his head, partially in bewilderment.

"Merlin," Albus sighed, slumping in his seat. "Five minutes into the _train_, and everything I've known is a lie, with all this stuff Dad never bothered to tell us...What'll I do when we actually get there?"

She laughed. "Don't worry, Al, I'll be there for you."

"Speaking of Hogwarts," said Scorpius, who still sounded like he was trying to process what had just happened, "what houses do you guys think you'll get in? Father says all Malfoys get into Slytherin, but it'd be nice to break tradition, wouldn't it?" He grinned at them, and that was the moment that Rose realized just who she was sitting across from, just what the name "Malfoy" meant.

She couldn't help it - she let out a little gasp.

"What was that for?" Albus teased. "Finally realized we're being Sorted soon?" He turned towards Scorpius. "She's had thing about being Sorted - she thinks she'll be put in Ravenclaw, and with brains like hers, she probably will be."

"Ravenclaw's not bad," Scorpius replied, but Rose was already (unintentionally) tuning him out. _Mum and Dad are going to kill me_, she thought. _Or at least Dad. Wasn't he just telling me I had to beat Scorpius in every test? And now Albus and I have gone off and had a civil conversation with him - and look at that, they're talking about Quidditch. Now it's _really_ hopeless._

Rose had (thankfully) not inherited her mother's general dislike for Quidditch, but certainly agreed that when boys started talking about the sport, they tended to become blunder headed idiots who were oblivious to everything around them.

"The Holy Harpies are going to win," she snapped matter-of-factly, interrupting the boys' bashing of her aunt's former team.

Scorpius laughed. "Harpies aren't bad, but I hear the Tornadoes have some sneaky tricks up their sleeves."

"And besides, Mum's not playing for them anymore, you don't have to defend them," Albus added. He and Scorpius smirked at her, then high-fived each other.

Merlin. At this rate, they'd be best mates by the time they got to Hogwarts.

Scorpius turned to Rose. "I hear your mum's 'the smartest witch of the century'."

Rose smiled proudly. She loved it when people praised Mum, seeing as she was her idol in every way, shape, and form. "Yep, that's Mum."

"I always thought you Potters and Weasleys would be stuck up, to be honest," the young Malfoy admitted. "Even after Father told me your parents saved his life twice." He turned red, then muttered, "I shouldn't have said that."

Rose, at a loss for words, replied, "You're not the only one who's been prejudiced, to be honest."

"Not to blame anyone," Albus piped in, "but how about we just... forget about everything our parents have said about each other, and just - what's the word your dad uses, Rose? Oh yeah - 'fraternize with the enemy'? Not that you're the enemy, Scor," he quickly assured, "just that Malfoys aren't all best friends with the Potters and Weasleys."

Rose glanced at him incredulously, partly because of his little speech (which reminded her of some kind of peace treaty), but mostly because of his casual use of nicknames. "That right there," she said, "was worthy of putting you in Ravenclaw."

"Couldn't have worded it better," Scorpius grinned.

"I'm going to be in Gryffindor," Albus said proudly.

"I should _hope_ I get in Gryffindor," she thought out loud.

"Well," Scorpius said with a hint of remorse, "I've got nothing to worry about, my future's planned up for me, at least until I get out of Hogwarts."

"What do you mean?"

"Well first off, I'll be getting into Slytherin, as I said, because all Malfoys go to Slytherin - it'd be more of a break of tradition than a disgrace if I got in Ravenclaw or something. Then, I'll have to get at least Prefect, if not Head Boy, as well as getting on the Quidditch team. As soon as I've finished Hogwarts, I'll be headed towards the Ministry, where I'll be forced to work with the Minister, with Father's influence. Oh, and speaking of Father, I'll also inherit the Manor, as soon as I get married to the Pureblood of Father's dreams."

Albus gaped at him. "Merlin... and I don't even know what we'll be eating at dinner."

"Say... doesn't your father work as an Auror?" Rose asked tentatively.

"He does."

"So why doesn't he want you to be one?"

"Because half the people I'd be tracking down would murder me in my sleep."

He said this quite nonchalantly, and that was probably what scared Rose most.

"That's nice," she said faintly.

"You think?" he grinned humorously.

She slumped back onto the cushioned seats. How odd it was, to be speaking to Scorpius Malfoy. She couldn't help but be slightly shocked at his personality. Why was he being so kind? It defied all logic of relationships between Slytherins and Gryffindors (though technically, they were still neutral, since they hadn't been sorted yet).

Scorpius stood up abruptly. "I'll be right back."

Rose and Albus nodded. The blond-haired boy whisked out of the compartment, shutting the glass door firmly.

"So what d'you think about him?" Albus ventured quietly.

"He's not so bad," Rose contemplated. "At least, nothing close to what I thought he'd be like."

"Well, I personally think, bollocks to what our mums and dads said. He's a fan of the Tornadoes, and that's enough for me." Albus grinned.

She playfully slapped his arm. "At any rate, they'll probably be furious at us." She gave a little laugh.

"Probably," Albus shrugged.

There came a feeble knock at the door. Rose looked up quickly and gaped.

Scorpius had come back, with an armload (literally) of sweets and pastries. He grinned cheekily as Albus and Rose stared at him, and gestured towards the door.

Rose hopped up and opened the door. "How much do you eat?" she exclaimed.

"Merlin, and I thought James ate a lot," Albus breathed over her shoulder.

Scorpius snorted as he dumped the sweets onto his side of the compartment. "Idiots, do I look like I could stomach all that? At least help me eat some of it, since I only got this much so we could share."

"Oh, thanks, mate," Albus cheered, picking out a Chocolate Frog from the mix.

"You didn't have to," Rose agreed, opening the wrapper of a Pumpkin Pasty.

"Well, it's proper etiquette, and even Father couldn't deny it'd be rude if I hadn't gotten something for you two as well. Jellybean?" He held out a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

Rose shuddered. "No thanks."

Scorpius smirked. "Bad experience?"

"Let's keep it at that."

The compartment door barged open abruptly. "Hey, Al!" James grinned mockingly, his friends coming up beside him. "Ready to be decked in green and silver?"

Albus turned red and mumbled and an incoherent reply.

"Oh, and Rosie, you're here as well! You'll get into Ravenclaw for sure, with your brains, so you don't need to worry about that." James sat down next to Scorpius and swung an arm around him. "And who's this bloke here?"

"Scorpius Malfoy," the blond said hesitantly.

James recoiled, drawing his arm away from his shoulders, looking startled. This was obviously short-lived, seeing as his face broke into a malicious grin as his eyes darted from Albus to Rose to Scorpius. "Well, well, well, Al. Never took you as the type to rebel. And Rosie, you goody-two-shoes, going along with it? Wait till Mum and Dad find out!" he said gleefully.

James clapped Albus's back as he got up and strolled to the door. "I'd get ready if I were you - we're just about there. See ya, lil' bro. I'll be waiting to see you Sorted." And with that, James pushed the sliding door shut and sauntered away, leaving a disgruntled Scorpius who looked as if he was in a trance. Albus didn't seem much better off, either.

Rose shook her head. "Don't listen to him, Al. He's just playing around."

Albus grimaced. "Yeah, I know."

She got up and reached up for her trunk. After rummaging a little, she finally found what she was looking for, and stepped towards the door. At the boys' confused looks, she said, "I'm going to change into my robes." She gestured at the black robes hanging on her arm.

"Oh, yeah, we should do that too," Scorpius said, coming out of his reverie.

Rose smiled. "I'll be back soon." She stepped out of their compartment and quickly found another that was empty - it had probably been abandoned by the prefects, who, she knew, had to patrol the train.

As she changed into her soft black Hogwarts robes, she couldn't help but grin. She'd made a new friend already, and was going to be Sorted soon. And for the first time, she was really going to Hogwarts.

* * *

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

Rose and Albus both patted Scorpius on the back as he made his way up to the stool. He had claimed that he wasn't worried about the Sorting, but Rose thought he seemed rather pale, like he was dreading the moment the Sorting Hat screamed his house.

Up on the stool, Scorpius put on the hat. Two seconds, and the hat hadn't proclaimed his house. Five. Ten. Rose gripped Albus's arm impatiently. The hat opened its mouth-

"GRYFFINDOR!"

A shocked Scorpius appeared from under the brim of the hat as Rose and Albus cheered. He gave a faint grin and thumbs-up to them, and made his way to the Gryffindor table, either not noticing the surprised whispers around him, or choosing to ignore them.

A few more first years were called up by Professor McGonagall, then she said, "Potter, Albus!"

"Good luck!" Rose whispered as Albus nervously walked up stage. He, like Scorpius, seemed to present a difficult choice in house, and the Sorting Hat took even longer to scream-

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Rose clapped happily as Albus walked down to the Gryffindor table, grinning ear to ear. She heard James call to Albus, "Too bad, Al! I thought we could break tradition this year!"

Smiling to herself, she steeled herself for her name to be called. She was positive she'd make it into Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, at least, but she wasn't sure which she'd prefer. Gryffindor was the norm - her mother always said Rose's attitude was truly a Weasley's. On the other hand, it'd be great for a change, and the Ravenclaw Tower always fascinated her, since she had so little information on it.

Before she knew it, her name was called. "Weasley, Rose!"

The last person left, aside from Rose, a girl with dark hair and brown eyes, gave Rose an encouraging smile as she stepped towards the stool. She gingerly placed the hat over her red hair.

"Another Weasley, eh?" a tiny voice said in her ear. "It'd be the natural thing to put you in Gryffindor, seeing as all you lot have been there... but what's this? Your intellect seems to be more than fit for Ravenclaw... Difficult, difficult... well, it can't be helped, I suppose. You're best fit for... SLYTHERIN!"

Rose felt her mouth drop open. A million things buzzed in her mind, and she couldn't sort anything out. Hadn't - hadn't the Sorting Hat just _said_ that she'd be fit for Gryffindor or Ravenclaw? Surely it was a mistake - he hadn't even _mentioned_ Slytherin, for Merlin's sake!

She got up from the stool in a daze, slowly taking off the hat. Maybe it was just her, but a lot of people seemed to be surprised, as they were with Scorpius. Perhaps they were in shock, like herself.

She managed to drag her feet towards the Slytherin table, though every part of her soul wanted her to turn towards the Gryffindor table, where James, Albus, everyone, even _Scorpius, _Scorpius _Malfoy_, was.

Rose had barely sat down at the table, where the Heads and Prefects greeted her, when the last person (Aria Zabini) was Sorted into Slytherin.

Slytherin. It wasn't that bad, really, she thought as she ate from the great golden plates and talked to her new housemates. They were all actually alright - they were nice, at least, and that surprised her, seeing as she was a Weasley. And that girl, Aria, was really pleasant and easy to talk to. In fact, the bad part about being Slytherin wasn't even because of her housemates. It was turning around to see Albus and Scorpius looking sympathetically at her, or James snorting loudly in glee every time he caught her glancing at the Gryffindors longingly.

Rose sighed and looked up to the beautiful starry ceiling. The Sorting was over, and soon they'd be off to bed, and school would start. Really, the only thing left to worry about was being murdered by her dad when he found out.

* * *

**So how was it? I wasn't sure about whether I captured Rose's personality correctly, but that's the great thing about the last generation - there's hardly anything you need to make sure to fit into their personas. If you've got the time, please review! I'm open to all kinds of reviews; I just want to improve my writing! Thanks :)**


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